China to open first phase of world's largest airport

China will complete first phase of an expansive new airport in Beijing's Daxing district, which could eventually be the world's largest, by 2019, officials told reporters.

China will complete first phase of an expansive new airport in Beijing's Daxing district, which could eventually be the world's largest, by 2019, officials told reporters.

Representatives of the Beijing New Airport project showed off the sprawling construction site on October 10, saying the city's second major airport could serve 45 million passengers a year with four runways on first opening, while two later phases would push the capacity to 100 million passengers annually.

That would put the airport, to be the world's largest in surface area, roughly in line with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest by annual passengers.

The existing Beijing Capital International Airport, the world's second-largest and owned by the same company building the new airport, is already operating well beyond its planned capacity.

The RMB 80 billion (USD 12 billion) airport is one of a raft of massive infrastructure spending projects being undertaken as China's economy grows at its slowest pace in decades, despite pledges to shift away from infrastructure spending and heavy industry and toward a consumer and services driven economy.

China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines will relocate to the new airport upon completion and account for four-fifths of its air traffic, airport officials said.